When the message board pundits got hold of the notion that Dathan
Ritzenhein and Don Sage might forgo an individual showdown in the Foot Locker
National Championships 2-mile in favor of their teams' relay events, they
moaned and groaned to raise the roof. They said the relays were unimportant and
insignificant, even possibly should be done away with.
The big crowd at Paul Derr Track Saturday night, especially those from a
certain school in Michigan, would beg to differ.
Spectacular performances by Ritzenhein and his male and female teammates gave
them five of the six distance relay events, including all three on the girls'
side. In fact, the team of Nora Colligan, Kalin Toedebusch, Emily Blakeslee and
Linsey Blaisdell was so dominant in the 4 mile relay that they won by over a
minute and lowered the national record to 20:30.57.
In between, champions were being crowned in a pair of highly-anticipated
miles and 800-meter races. First, Wyoming's Alicia Craig completed an
impressive two weeks by taking the girls mile in 4:46.57. Then Ryan Hall of
California used a withering last lap kick to take the boys 4-lapper in 4:06.15.
Neisha Bernard-Thomas of New York used the opposite strategy, an unbeatable
start, to take the girls 800 in 2:06.55. And the closest race of the night, the
boys 800, went to Jonathan Johnson of Texas in 1:49.61. Justin Romaniuk of New
York closed out the individual distance events with a narrow triumph in the 2000
meter steeplechase in 5:59.60.
The 4 Mile relays: A rout, a record and a real race
The Rockford teams were among those running on fumes, it would seem,
Saturday morning as they were having to follow their 4 x 800 meter triumph from
Friday with a 9 a.m. start in the 4 x mile. "We only got 4-1/2 hours sleep,"
said Nora Colligan. No matter, they were a minute better than the rest of the
field, with Strongsville, Ohio taking second in 21:37.97.
But wait, there was the matter of a fast time and a record. After legs from
Colligan (5:16.5) and Toedebusch (5:08.3), Ridgewood, N.J.'s mark of 20:34.40
from 17 years ago looked like a tough challenge. But enter Emily Blakeslee, one
of the team's few seniors. Coming off a tough 2-mile from the night before
(11:05), she took it on herself to keep the team in position for the anchor.
"It was my last race with these girls ever," she said.
Blakeslee completed her circuits in 5:04.4, giving Blaisdell (4:50 PR) plenty
of leeway in which to work. She clocked a 5:01.7 and the record was in the bag.
But it's a measure of how high the standards of Coach Brad Prins girls are
that Colligan, speaking for the group, had to admit after the race, "We're
not really happy with the time."
Look for the Rams to cut a huge hunk off that mark next year.
Next up was the boys' 16-lapper, with Don Sage looking for redemption
with his York (Ill.) teammates after the previous night's 2-mile. Sure enough,
after 3 legs, York was 5.46 seconds behind, but not out of the senior's reach.
It was Ritz-Sage II, with Sage splitting an incredible 57.70 for the first
lap and Ritz a none-too-slow 59.37. After a 61.66 that put him through halfway
in just over 1:59, the Illinois star had drawn within a second.
But Ritz always seems to have at least one major move inside of him. Though
both runners were slowing from the torrid first 800, the junior surged on the
backstretch to sever contact with his friendly rival. Sage could never regain
it, despite a total leg of 4:10.56.
The Rams finished in 17:21.57, prep history's No. 10 effort, with the Dukes
just a couple ticks back in 17:23.40 (No. 13) - both were 40-plus seconds
ahead of Lockhart, Texas in third (18:07.65). It was telling of both the effort
expended, and the friendship they share, that the two runners fell into each
others arms - then crashed to the curb - after the race ended.
"I knew it was going to be tough," said Sage. "I hadn't felt too
great in the 2-mile. But I saw what position I was in and just decided to go for
it."
"I thought I could gut it out for four laps," he added. "I went out
pretty hard, then tried to keep going. I was hoping to catch Dathan, then draft
off him a little."
Seth Folkertsma had given Rockford the lead with his 4:21.47, using a great
final lap to overcome Adam Palumbo's 4:24.16. Then Andy Martin's 4:23.36 had
increased it a little over Pete Stasiulis' 4:25.18.
But then a searing 2:05 first 800 by Brian Smith on the third leg stunned
everyone and opened up 10 seconds on York. But Pete Cioni of the Dukes used a
strong final lap (63.53, 4:25.49 overall) to get Sage in striking position.
"I knew I had to take it out hard," said Smith, who ran 4:24.59 overall.
Then it was on to Ritz and the final fireworks.
"I figured he'd come on," said Ritz of his rival. "I was really
feeling it (tired) big time. But I heard him on the third lap and that's why I
surged."
The Miles: Craig and Hall
Another runner with a chance at some big time redemption was Shalane
Flanagan of Mass. The previous evening in the 2-mile, she abandoned the race
after 5 laps, revealing later that a nightmare travel situation had delayed her
flight 8 hours and gotten her to Raleigh less than 2 hours before her race. The
mile was a chance to show at least the form that got her that nation-leading
4:46.91 in the NSI mile in March.
After New Jersey's Lindsey Gallo and Wisconsin's Brooke Novak led through
a quick 69-second 400, the pace slowed to 75 and 73. As the pace was slowing,
defending champ Erin Donohue (Haddonfield, N.J.) gambled that a surge to the
front duo was needed, but eventually Flanagan took over before the bell with a
35-second 200 and the real racing began.
Biding her time well was Wyoming's Alicia Craig, having run a big PR
finishing 2nd in the 2-Mile Friday. She overtook Flanagan into the final straight and
completed a big double-double with a 4:46.57 - another PR.
Not only had Craig shone the previous night with her 10:22.34, but her 4:50.3
also won the Golden West mile the week before. Flanagan was still a fine second
in 4:48.57.
"I've been training pretty hard," Craig said afterwards. "I just
said, 'Please, Lord, help me recover!' The Lord gives me my strength and
salvation; I just give Him all the glory."
Though Craig is not a huge kicker (59 400/2:12 800 speed), she measured her
effort early, knowing the fast early pace would not keep up. Then her gradual
move in the final lap was perfectly timed after Flanagan had started her push
600m out.
As for Flanagan, she had to be just a bit incredulous after what she had been
through. Preparation for her mile had gone smoothly until she discovered shortly
before race-time that her bag had been taken with her spikes in it. She
frantically tried to borrow a pair, winding up with a slightly oversized set
from an Illinois runner. "It's just not been my weekend," she said with a
rueful laugh. But with a race that had gone much better than the previous night,
she had reason to smile and begin preparing to return to the area (she's a UNC
recruit) in the fall.
The boys mile was a California sweep, but there hardly could have been a
less likely-looking winner than Ryan Hall. While Josh Spiker was gunning the
first lap in 60.6, the Big Bear junior was cruising along in last place.
But it was some supremely confident cruising and, boy, did he have a plan.
The Big Bear junior began moving up as the half went past in 2:04.9 for Spiker,
then really stepped on the gas at 1100 meters. The third furlong went in about
28 for the new leader. Several runners were giving concerted chase, but the race
was over.
Hall finished in 59 for his last quarter, and surely under 2:00 for the last
half, for his 4:06.15. But Spiker held on for third (4:07.76), after Ryan
Bousquet passed him and finished strong for second in a big PR 4:06.97. The
California trio and a few others than put a wrap on things by kneeling for a
quick post-race prayer just past the finish line.
"I had two race plans," revealed a calm and satisfied Hall afterwards.
"If it was fast, I was going to move with 500 left; if it was slow, I was
going to go at 800. I had a Bible verse in my head during the race (Phil. 4:13)
and I was relying on the power of God to pull me through."
For Bousquet, it was some nice redemption from a DQ in his heat at Cal State
and a 6th at Golden West. "At Golden West, I was in second place
the whole race � then with 150 to go, I was really sucking wind," he said.
"Today, I used the same strategy as I did at Arcadia (a big 4:09.37 win). I
got in the pack - I must have been 10th at one point - then when
Hall started moving, I said 'this is the time to go.'"
Meanwhile, Minnesota's Nick Schneider, assigned to an unseeded section, put
an exclamation point on a great weekend, with an incredible 4:08.33 in the
second race. Doubling was discouraged by the FLO meet managers, but Schneider
said "it was just like running in my
state meet." A 60-second last lap gave the junior a huge margin and
fourth overall to go with his runner-up two-mile the night before.
The 800s: Johnson and Bernard-Foster
The question in the girls 800 Saturday night was whether Neisha
Bernard-Thomas would again attempt to run nearly all out from the start of the
race and, if so, could she hold on. The night before she exploded at the
start of the final leg of the sprint medley, which her Tilden (N.Y.) team won in
3:55.16, the No. 2 time ever.
When asked what her first lap was Friday, she replied, "56," as if it was
no big deal. Well, maybe not for Jearl Miles-Clark, but ....
The open 2-lapper found Bernard-Thomas more restrained, but only slightly.
She took the pace through 400 in 59 (after a 27.9 first 200), stringing out the
field. They would strain to pull back to her, but the strong senior held solid
down the stretch for a nation-leading 2:06.55 - a second faster than her
effort Friday and 1.18 up on California's Heather Hennessy.
"I felt pretty good," said the Grenada native, "but not like yesterday.
I felt them coming up on me."
In contrast, the boys 800 was a blanket finish, with three runners finishing
within .08 of each other.
Watching the results of a withering early pace in the girls race apparently
had no effect on the field of nine, with the first two furlongs going in 24.9
and 52.6 - nearly a world-class tempo. James Doaty of Kentucky, Said Ahmed of
Massachusetts and Marc Sylvester of Ohio were among the early leaders.
But as he did at Golden West, Jonathan Johnson of Abilene, Texas closed best
at the finish. He had to go four wide just to get clear and then surged ahead just before the tape to win in 1:49.61, with
fast-closing fellow Texan Adam Davis (1:49.66) also nosing out Sylvester
(1:49.69), who looked like a winner at the head of the straight. Doaty, Michigan's
Tom Greenless and Georgia's Marcello Dunning also were under 1:51.
Johnson's time was just .01 slower than the previous week and avenged his
Texas state loss to Davis.
"I was pretty much at the back," laughed Johnson when describing the
first part of his race, noting the similarities to Golden West. "I just ran my
race. I knew they'd come back to me. You can't let them get too far ahead,
which I almost did last week, so I went in the third 200. I learned in the
Texas State Meet that I had to run the third 200 faster."
That Sylvester was there at all was a miracle. In the 4 x 400 of his Ohio
region meet three weeks ago, he felt his chest buckle. When he felt extreme pain
a few days later, it was discovered that his right lung had collapsed by 75
percent.
"It's a birth thing; these blisters or weak spots on my lungs," he
explained. "Something like this happened my freshman year and, apparently, one
didn't heal right and overcompensated � But now it shouldn't happen again."
Sylvester had a tube in his chest for three days to reinflate it, but was
told he couldn't run "for awhile."
"I went to the state meet and had to watch," he said. "It was really
hard."
But Sylvester was able to start training lightly in the days ahead, then used
three short, but significant speed workouts (with two days rest in-between
instead of one) to maintain his peak and be able to come within .19 of his PR
here.
Romaniuk Splashes To Steeple Win
Justin Romaniuk found the tough mile field just a little too rich for his
liking. So he decided to return to an old favorite late Saturday night. As he
would later say with a laugh, "Girls love the steeplechase!"
In just his second steeple of the year, the Suffern, N.Y. junior kicked off
the final water barrier to take the 2000 meter event in 5:59.80, just edging Cal
State 800 champ Mike Serratos' 6:00.18.
"I figured I had a good shot at it," he said, noting his mile best this
year had been 4:12. Of his final move, he added, "I wasn't going to get that
close and lose."
The Climax: Dandy DMR Double For Rockford
If there was any doubt that it was Rockford's show at the Foot Locker
Outdoor Championships this weekend, they made their final statement in the final
hours Saturday: Two overpowering distance medley relay triumphs.
First, it was the Rockford girls completing their incredible triple -
but it wasn't easy at first. Kalin Toedebusch had some competition in her
1200m opener, taking the stick through in 3:39.40, but just out of first.
Nora Colligan, stepping down to 400, regained it for the Rams, however. Her
58.72 was a personal best for the senior in her final race and gave her team an
advantage it would not relinquish.
Young Aimee Keenan went out fast, then held on for a 2:16.37 800, extending
the lead to Linsey Blaisdell. Rising to the occasion, the junior put the race in
the bag with a 66 first lap and proceeded to duck under 5:00 with a 4:55.75.
The final clocking of 11:49.44 was another meet record and the fourth fastest
prep time ever. Manchester Central (N.H) put up a good fight, settling for
11:57.48 for second - nearly under the previous meet mark.
Then it was the final chance to watch amazing Dathan Ritzenhein and his
Rockford boys teammates - but they had no picnic, either, getting good
challenges from Don Lugo early and West Hills (both Calif. Schools) late.
Despite a fine 3:06.00, Seth Folkertsma trailed Lugo's 3:04.8 after the
3-lap leg, then Chad Rehkopf maintained with a solid 50.78 400. But it was Andy
Martin, another senior, coming up with the 800 of his life (1:56.41) to give the
Rams the lead.
"I just tried to keep strong and stay relaxed," said Martin. "I took
him on the corner (of the last lap) and just kept going."
Ritz then tore the heart out of any would-be pursuers with a blistering
58.56-2:00.12 start on his 1600 leg. He slowed considerably the final two
go-rounds, but still clocked a fine 4:09.75. The final 10:03.09 ranks 18th
on the all-time list and was another new meet record, six seconds ahead of West
Hills.
The final scene for those who remained was a big party on the field with the
Rockford distance stars and their families. The flashes from the cameras almost
rivaled the lightning that had delayed the meet earlier in the evening. Probably
no school had more fans having traveled to Raleigh to provide support than
Rockford.
The Rockford gang Saturday morning at FLO
"We got a lot of parents that came down here," said Dathan's father,
noting that additional supporters from the local North Kent Track Club provided
significant encouragement as well. "It's been really great. They all work
real hard and this is a great chance at some real rewards."
"I'm going to miss this," said Colligan.